In short: USPS Publication 52 bars anything dangerous or injurious, and the items that catch gift senders are rarely the obvious ones. Perfume, cologne, nail polish and alcohol-based hand sanitizer are flammable liquids under § 343. Tobacco and vapes are generally nonmailable under § 472. Hemp-derived CBD is mailable domestically under § 453, and prohibited to APO, FPO and DPO addresses.

We write packing guides, not lab reviews: we have not tested every product on this page, and nothing here is medical advice. Prices, availability and ratings change constantly — whatever Amazon shows when you click is the authoritative figure.

Two documents decide what may be in your box. Publication 52 says what may travel at all. If the address is military, the current Postal Bulletin pull-out says what may travel to that particular ZIP Code.

Most senders read neither. Then a parcel gets pulled over something nobody thinks of as dangerous, because the surprises here are not the ones people brace for. A bottle of wine is obvious. A bottle of perfume is not.

Our main care package guide handles the other half of the problem: what belongs in the box, and what the destination will accept. This page is narrower. It is about what the Postal Service itself will carry.

Who decides

The rulebook is USPS Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail. The edition current at retrieval on August 20, 2026 is the February 2026 one. USPS revises it, so read the live copy at pe.usps.com rather than any printout.

Publication 52 states its premise in § 211. "Under 18 U.S.C. § 1716, all matter that is outwardly or of its own force dangerous or injurious to life, health, or property is nonmailable." The same section names the consequence: "The knowing deposit of such matter in the mail is a crime punishable by fine, imprisonment, and/or other penalty."

That is the first tier. The second is restricted matter, defined at § 411: "Restricted matter includes items on which mailing restrictions have been imposed, generally, by federal law."

Keep the two apart, because gift senders confuse them constantly. Nonmailable means it cannot go. Restricted means it can go, but only under stated conditions — a particular transportation mode, a particular package, a particular quantity.

Behind both sits the statute itself, 18 U.S.C. § 1716. For a knowing deposit made without intent to injure, it says the mailer "shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both."

Notice whose name is on that sentence. Nobody opens your box at the counter. A clerk asks whether it holds anything hazardous, liquid, fragile or perishable, and then writes down what you say. The obligation is yours, start to finish.

The four categories that catch gift senders

Four sections of Publication 52 do most of the damage to a care package. None of them appears on the list a sender would guess.

Flammable liquids you did not think were flammable

Flammable and combustible liquids are § 343. Per that section, flammable liquids are prohibited in international mail and in domestic air transportation. Where they are mailable at all, they move as a limited quantity by surface transportation only, under a specified packaging instruction, with flashpoint as the sorting test.

Now read that list of household objects again. Perfume. Cologne. Nail polish. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

None of these is a hazard on a bathroom shelf. All of them are a hazard in a cargo hold, which is where a lot of domestic mail rides. A gift set of scented products is the single most common way a care package walks into § 343 without the sender knowing the section exists.

The practical version: if a label says flammable, or if the first ingredient is alcohol, that item changes how the whole parcel can travel.

Hemp and CBD

Controlled substances and drugs are § 453, and the section draws a line that almost nobody sees coming.

Per § 453, hemp and hemp-derived products may be mailed domestically only when the mailer complies with the applicable federal and state requirements. That covers cannabidiol (CBD) at no more than 0.3 percent THC. Those same shipments are prohibited in international mail — and that prohibition explicitly reaches items addressed to overseas APO, FPO and DPO addresses.

So a CBD balm is one item with two answers. Mail it to your sister three states away and you are inside § 453 provided you meet the requirements it names. Mail the identical jar to your brother's APO address and it is prohibited.

Sharp things

A pocket knife or a multitool is a normal gift for a student, a hiker or someone deployed, and it has its own rule. Sharp instruments live in chapter 4, sections 442 and 443, not in the drug sections next door.

The packaging duty in § 443 falls on you: any sharp-pointed or sharp-edged instrument must be securely packaged in a strong container so that it cannot cut through. A blade loose in a box of socks fails that on its face.

One category draws a harder line, at § 442. Switchblade knives are mailable only to a narrow list of government and procurement recipients. Unless you are on it, the answer is no.

Tobacco and vapes

Cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery systems are § 472. Per that section, covered tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery products are generally nonmailable, and nonmailable covered products deposited in the mail are subject to seizure and forfeiture.

Seizure and forfeiture is a different outcome from a refused parcel. The box does not come back to you.

Narrow exceptions do exist, in § 473. We have not read that section, so we are not going to summarize it. If you think an exception covers you, read § 473 itself.

What happens when it goes wrong

Say the box ships and arrives ruined. This is the part nobody publishes, so here it is.

The Domestic Mail Manual lists nonpayable claims at 609.4.3. Indemnity is not payable for "Perishable contents frozen, melted, spoiled, or deteriorated."

Read that twice, because it removes the fallback most senders assume they have. Melted chocolate is not a claim. It is simply a loss, and insuring the parcel does not change the answer.

For damage that is payable, timing is a rule rather than a courtesy. DMM 609.1.4 sets the windows: for most services, a claim comes no sooner than 15 days and no later than 60 days after mailing. Military mail to APO, FPO and DPO addresses gets a longer window, extended to one year.

Coverage itself is smaller than people think. Per DMM 503.4, Priority Mail carries included coverage against loss or damage of no more than $100, with additional coverage available for purchase.

There is also a fee attached to sending perishables at all. Publication 52 § 513 states that "The Live Animal and Perishable Handling Fee is a fee assessed on all live animals and perishable items." The same section adds a detail worth knowing before you decide: "The fee is nonrefundable once the item is entered into the network."

You pay extra to send it, and you cannot claim it if it spoils.

Mailing to a military address

A military address is not a harder version of a domestic address. It runs on a different stack of rules, and Publication 52 says so twice.

Under § 611, the subject is hazardous, restricted and perishable materials mailed to, from and between overseas Army Post Offices, Fleet Post Offices, and Diplomatic Post Offices. Such materials are "subject to the conditions of IMM 130, the standards in this publication."

Two more layers follow: "conditions prescribed by the Department of State international security policy." And beyond those, "conditions prescribed by the Department of Defense (DOD), as listed in Overseas Military/Diplomatic Mail in the Postal Bulletin."

The baseline is explicit at § 16, which states that "Unless excepted, standards in this publication apply to the military postal system, its personnel." It reaches, too, "undelivered mail that is or has been in the official custody of that system and its personnel."

Where the real list lives. The Department of Defense conditions are published in the Postal Bulletin, in a pull-out titled Overseas Military/Diplomatic Mail. The current issue at retrieval on August 20, 2026 is 22709, cover date August 20, 2026. USPS republishes the pull-out roughly every two weeks, so the newest issue is always the one that governs — never a copy someone pasted into an article last spring.

How it is applied. The pull-out publishes a long table of restriction codes, running from A through Z1, and applies them ZIP Code by ZIP Code. Each military ZIP carries its own string of letters, and no two are guaranteed to match.

Individual codes are short and specific. Code D: "Coffee is prohibited." Code I2: "Liquids of any type are prohibited." Code B is the customs-form code, and its sentence has two halves. The first: "A customs declaration PS Form 2976 or PS Form 2976-A is required for all items weighing 16 ounces or more." The second reaches further, to "all items (regardless of weight) containing potentially dutiable mail contents."

Looking one up. USPS runs an APO/FPO/DPO restrictions page at postcalc.usps.com. Treat it as what it is — a lookup form that takes a ZIP Code and a mailing date, not a table you can read. It does not display the codes; it directs you to the most recent Postal Bulletin pull-out for them.

The customs form. USPS covers the return-address case on its military and diplomatic mail page, and the wording is worth having: "Anyone sending an international package with an APO, FPO, or MPO Zip Code in the return address." Such a sender "needs to create a customs form online or fill out PS Form 2976-R before visiting a retail counter." PS Form 2976-R is the customs declaration completed at the counter.

Size. The same page publishes a DPO ceiling: "Length: 27 inches, Width: 14 inches, Height: 14 inches."

The free kit. USPS supplies a Military Care Kit at no charge, orderable online or by phone at 800-610-8734. Its contents, per The Postal Store product page: “2 Priority Mail APO/FPO Flat Rate Boxes. 12"(L) x 12"(W) x 5-1/2"(H) — 2 Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate® Boxes (top loading). 11"(L) x 8-1/2"(W) x 5-1/2"(H) — 2 Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Boxes (side loading).” Six boxes, plus labels, tape and customs forms, delivered free.

Mailing abroad

For a civilian address in another country, there is no single list to memorize.

Publication 52 chapter 6 states its own scope: "This chapter outlines regulations governing the mailability of dangerous goods, restricted matter, and perishable matter that may be sent as international mail."

On top of that, every destination country sets its own list of what it will and will not admit. USPS says as much on its international shipping restrictions page and sends senders to the Individual Country Listings at pe.usps.com.

So the international step is one lookup. Find the country, read its listing, then pack.

Before you seal the box

Three supplies do most of the compliance work here, and none of them is exciting.

This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through one, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend what we would suggest to a friend.

Anything with a cap goes in its own resealable storage bag on Amazon. Packing tape on Amazon holds the strong container § 443 expects. And a small shipping scale on Amazon tells you at home whether you have crossed the 16-ounce line code B cares about.

Then run the list.

  1. Pull anything flammable. Perfume, cologne, nail polish, alcohol-based hand sanitizer — § 343 restricts them to surface transportation and bars them from international mail.
  2. Check the CBD twice. Domestic only, under the conditions § 453 names, and never to an APO, FPO or DPO address.
  3. Package any blade so it cannot cut through, per § 443. No switchblades unless you are on the narrow recipient list in § 442.
  4. Leave tobacco and vapes out. Publication 52 § 472 makes them generally nonmailable and subject to seizure and forfeiture.
  5. Decide about perishables with your eyes open. Publication 52 § 513 charges a handling fee that is nonrefundable, and DMM 609.4.3 pays nothing if the contents spoil.
  6. Weigh the box. At 16 ounces or more, a military parcel needs the customs declaration described by code B.
  7. Look up the ZIP if it is military. Get the codes from the current Postal Bulletin pull-out, issue 22709 as of August 20, 2026, not from memory.
  8. Remember the categories the pillar covers, since they belong on the same pass: alcohol, aerosols, loose lithium batteries and fresh food are all handled in our full care package rules.

Contents are a separate exercise, and what to put in a care package takes them one at a time.

Frequently asked questions

What can you not mail in a care package?

Anything dangerous or injurious is nonmailable under Publication 52 § 211. For gift boxes, the practical list is short. Flammable liquids like perfume and hand sanitizer (§ 343). Tobacco and vaping products (§ 472). Switchblades outside a narrow recipient list (§ 442). CBD to any military address (§ 453). USPS also publishes a plain-language restricted list.

Can you mail alcohol in a care package?

No. Intoxicating liquors are nonmailable under 18 U.S.C. § 1716, and that includes wine, beer and spirits, whatever the packaging. This is one of the few genuinely absolute rules in the mail. The thresholds and the exact Publication 52 sections are covered on our main care package page.

Can you mail perfume?

Only under conditions, and most senders will not meet them casually. Publication 52 § 343 treats alcohol-based perfume as a flammable liquid: prohibited in international mail, prohibited in domestic air transportation, and mailable where allowed only as a limited quantity by surface transportation, under the packaging instruction the section specifies. Cologne and nail polish sit in the same category.

Can you send CBD to a military address?

No. Per Publication 52 § 453, hemp and hemp-derived CBD at no more than 0.3 percent THC may be mailed domestically when the mailer meets applicable federal and state requirements. Those shipments are prohibited in international mail, and that prohibition explicitly covers overseas APO, FPO and DPO addresses. The domestic answer does not carry over.

Can you mail food in a care package?

Some food, under conditions. Publication 52 § 513 assesses a handling fee on perishable items, and it is nonrefundable once the item enters the network. If perishable contents arrive frozen, melted, spoiled or deteriorated, DMM 609.4.3 pays no indemnity. Fresh food has its own rules, covered on our main care package page.

What happens if a care package arrives damaged?

It depends on what was damaged. DMM 609.4.3 excludes perishable contents that froze, melted, spoiled or deteriorated, so nothing is payable there. For other damage, DMM 609.1.4 sets the filing window at no sooner than 15 days and no later than 60 days after mailing, extended to one year for military mail. Priority Mail includes coverage up to $100, per DMM 503.4.

Do shipping rules differ by carrier?

Yes, and you cannot assume one carrier's answer applies to another. Everything on this page is the published USPS position, taken from Publication 52, the Domestic Mail Manual and the Postal Bulletin. Private carriers publish their own prohibited and restricted lists, and those lists are theirs alone. If you ship with one, read its current page directly.

Hannah Ruiz is the care package editor at Care Package Ideas. She is not a lawyer or a postal employee. This page is a reading of published USPS documents, not legal advice, so when a rule matters, click through and read it yourself. How we work is on the about page, her author page has the rest, and our affiliate disclosure explains how the site is funded.

Sources

  1. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 § 211, "General," February 2026 edition, no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c2_001.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  2. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 § 411, "Definition," no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c4_001.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  3. U.S. Government Publishing Office, "18 U.S.C. § 1716 — Injurious articles as nonmailable," United States Code, 2023 Edition. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title18/html/USCODE-2023-title18-partI-chap83-sec1716.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  4. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 § 343, "Flammable and Combustible Liquids," no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c3_022.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  5. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 § 453, "Controlled Substances and Drugs," no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c4_020.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  6. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 § 442, "Switchblade Knives," no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c4_015.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  7. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 § 443, "Sharp Instruments," no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c4_016.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  8. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 § 472, "Cigarettes, Smokeless Tobacco, and Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems," no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c4_027.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  9. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 § 513, "Live Animal and Perishable Handling Fee," no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_003.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  10. United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 609.1.4 and 609.4.3, "Filing Indemnity Claims for Loss or Damage" and "Nonpayable Claims," no date shown on page. https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/609.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  11. United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 503.4, "Insurance," no date shown on page. https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/503.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  12. United States Postal Service, "File a Claim," no date shown on page. https://www.usps.com/help/claims.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  13. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 § 611, "APO/FPO/DPO Mail," no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c6_002.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  14. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 § 16, "Military Postal System," no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c1_010.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  15. United States Postal Service, "Overseas Military/Diplomatic Mail," Postal Bulletin 22709, cover date August 20, 2026. https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2026/pb22709/html/apo.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  16. United States Postal Service, "APO/FPO/DPO Restrictions" lookup, no date shown on page. https://postcalc.usps.com/MilitaryRestrictions — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  17. United States Postal Service, "Military & Diplomatic Mail," no date shown on page. https://www.usps.com/ship/apo-fpo-dpo.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  18. United States Postal Service, "Military Care Kit," U.S. Postal Facts, page marked last updated May 15, 2026. https://facts.usps.com/military-care-kit/ — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  19. United States Postal Service, The Postal Store, "Military Care Kit" product page, no date shown on page. https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/military-care-kit-P_MILITARYKIT — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  20. United States Postal Service, "International Shipping Restrictions, Prohibitions, & HAZMAT," no date shown on page. https://www.usps.com/international/shipping-restrictions.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  21. United States Postal Service, Postal Explorer, "Individual Country Listings," no date shown on page. https://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/immctry.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  22. United States Postal Service, Publication 52 Chapter 6, "International Mail," no date shown on section page. https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c6_001.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.
  23. United States Postal Service, "Shipping Restrictions," domestic prohibited and restricted lists, no date shown on page. https://www.usps.com/ship/shipping-restrictions.htm — retrieved 2026-08-20.